by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Kushki Raises $86m in Equity to Grow Fintech Services for Retailers in Latin America

Kushki, a digital payment processor that is active in Latin America, recently raised USD 86 million in its Series B funding round. The investors – not all of which have been named – include Spain-based Conexo Ventures, Mexico-based Dila Capital,

by Sophie Fiala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Chipper Cash Raises $100m in Equity to Expand Cryptocurrency, Peer-to-Peer Services, Distribution of Payment Cards in Africa, UK

Chipper Cash, a US-based financial technology (fintech) firm active in Africa, recently raised USD 100 million in a Series C round of funding that it plans to use to

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Positive Ventures of Brazil Raises $10m for Impact Fund Supporting Cleantech, Education, Fintech, Health

Positive Ventures, a Brazilian venture capital and private equity firm, recently raised USD 10 million for an impact investment fund from its limited partners, including Cândido Bracher, who previously served as Chairman of Brazil-based Itaú Unibanco; Teresa Bracher; and Luis Stuhlberger, who co-founded Brazil-based Verde Asset Management. Positive Ventures invests in companies seeking to “create an economic, social and

by Aakansha Shenoy -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Numida of Uganda Raises $2.3m in Equity to Scale Digital Lending in Partnership with MFS Africa

Numida, a financial technology (fintech) firm in Uganda, recently raised USD 2.3 million in seed funding from a group of investors led by South Africa’s Mobile Financial Solutions (MFS) Africa, whose infrastructure Numida plans to use to expand outside of Uganda and launch unspecified additional digital financial products. The other investors were the US-based

by Sophie Fiala -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SaltPay Acquires Paymentology, Tutuka to Boost Cloud Payments in Africa, Asia, Europe

SaltPay, a UK-based payment technology firm serving small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe, recently struck deals to acquire International Tutuka Holdings, a provider of payment cards that is based in South Africa, and

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Appzone of Nigeria Raises $10m in Funding Round Led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers

Appzone, a Nigeria-based financial technology firm, recently raised USD 10 million (NGN 3.8 billion) in its Series A round of funding, which was led by Nigeria-based private equity investor CardinalStone. The other participating investors were US-based Lateral Investment Partners and three Nigeria-based firms:

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Zeepay of Ghana Buys Controlling Stake in Mangwee Mobile Money of Zambia

The Ghana-based financial technology (fintech) company Zeepay recently bought a 51-percent stake in Zambia-based digital wallet and remittance platform Mangwee Mobile Money for an undisclosed price. Zeepay Managing Director Andrew Takyi-Appiah noted, “The acquisition… will give Zeepay access to Mozambique, Malawi, Angola and Namibia among others in our effort to

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Mastercard, Razorpay to Increase Access to Recurring Payments for Startups, SMEs in India

US-based company Mastercard and India-based financial technology firm (fintech) Razorpay recently partnered to increase access to mobile payments for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in India. The partnership will combine “Razorpay’s payment processing capabilities with Mastercard’s trusted and secure dig

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Iran Planning NFC System to Allow Retail Payments via Mobile Devices in Lieu of Cards

The Central Bank of Iran reportedly is developing a contactless payment system using near-field communication (NFC) technology that will allow customers to make retail payments using mobile phones. Among the goals of the effort is to reduce: (1) costs for banks and their customers; (2) the use of payment cards, which are gene

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Latinia Invests in Fintech Ábaco, Microlender in Colombia, Mexico

Spain-based software vendor and financial technology (fintech) investor Latinia recently announced it has invested an unspecified amount of funds in Ábaco, a fintech active in Colombia and Mexico. Based in Colombia, Ábaco makes lending decisions using software that “identifies the behavior of delivery platform workers and freela

by Harriet Ritchie -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: FinovateFall; September 13-15, 2021; New York, New York, USA

FinovateFall is one of a series of conferences focusing on financial technology (fintech). The event includes demonstrations of new fintech products, networking opportunities and approximately 120 speakers. Although the agenda for this year has yet to be announced, the 2020 agenda included sessions such as Keynote presentations by Pablos Holman, inventor at the Intellectual Ventures Lab; Sarika Sangwan, Global Head of strategy and marketing at Pinterest; and a panel discussion of post-Covid innovation. Details regarding an option to participate virtually are under development.

by Simrun Kothari -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Fintech Summit; November 9-12, 2020; Virtual; NEW FORMAT AND DATES

Originally scheduled to take place during October in the US city of Washington, DC, this event was converted to a digital format. The summit will include sessions on blockchain, revenue models for financial technology (fintech), “InsurTech [Insurance Technology] in Africa,” and “Digital Identity and Financial Inclusion.” There will also be: (1) a pitch competition serving as a regional final for the StartUp World Cup, a contest with a grand prize of USD 1 million; and (2) an Alpha Expo, “an opportunity for

by Chee Meng Ng -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Fintech Firm OPay Raises $120m in Equity Funding for Digital Payments, Ride Hailing, Food Delivery

OPay, a Nigerian mobile platform for making payments, arranging car rides and ordering deliveries from restaurants, recently raised USD 120 million in equity from 10 investors to scale up in Nigeria and expand to countries such as Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. OPay’s transportation arm, ORide, facilitates up to

by Anuhya Tadepalli -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: FINNOSUMMIT, Connecting Fintech Leaders Across LatAm; December 3 – 4, 2019; Miami, Florida, USA

FINNOSUMMIT, whose name refers to the concept of a “Fintech and Insurtech Innovator Summit,” brings together those interested in new ideas in financial technology (fintech) and insurance technology (insurtech) in Latin America. The session topics include: Forging the Future of Money with Fintechs: Visa’s Vision for the Next Five Years of Payments Innovation; Blockchain as Payments Infrastructure;

by Anuhya Tadepalli -

MICROFINANCE EVENT: Foromic: Reinventing Inclusion; October 30 – November 1, 2019; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

The 22nd edition of Foromic will focus on innovative digital solutions for Latin America and the Caribbean in the financial services, clean energy, agricultural technology (agtech), and water and sanitation sectors. Sample panel topics include: (1) Investing in